Every Chance We Get We Run
by emotionsovrflow
Summary: Chloe and Beca hit a bump in their relationship when they decide to take things to a new level.
1. Monday Morning, 5:49 am

_Monday morning, 5:49am_

Chloe Beale couldn't sleep. Most nights, she had no problem at all. Sleep was something that rarely eluded her. Tonight, though, she could. not. sleep. In all honesty, her mind had been restless since Friday night and it was only now, Sunday night into Monday morning, that her body had finally caught up.

After spending most of the night tossing and turning, her thoughts racing, she decided to go for a run to clear her mind. It was almost 6 am, so there wasn't much point in trying to sleep now, anyway. After checking her phone again and seeing no new texts, she hopped out of bed, drank a glass of water, ate a granola bar, and put on her running clothes, hoping the exercise would help regain her focus and maybe give her some energy.

Chloe liked to run, liked the way it opened her lungs and cleared her mind. She liked the endorphins and the way it helped to sculpt her body. Whenever she found herself in emotional turmoil, running was her go-to solution to at least take the edge off, if not completely calm her nerves.

At first, the run seemed to help Chloe's mental state. Sticking to a playlist of potential Bella's songs, she was able to hone in on the music, working out which members of the group could perform which parts of the song, eliminating some songs from contention, boosting others to the top of her list. After a while, though, her brain went back to the rambling, anxious state it had been in last night while she should have been sleeping.

 _Bella's song lists. Beca. I really should get new running shoes. Beca. I need to plan a study schedule for midterms. Beca. Beca. Stacie still never gave back that jacket I let her borrow last week. Beca. Beca. BECA._

The events of Friday night were on a constant loop, no matter what she tried. Even when she was thinking about something else, she could feel it in the back of her consciousness, rattling around like loose parts. The thought that something between her and Beca had potentially broken or come undone stopped Chloe in her tracks.

She put her hands on her hips and took a few deep breaths, looking up. It couldn't be a coincidence she stopped in this spot. Ever since she started attending Barden, Chloe had set herself the goal of one day running up the stairs that led to the astrological observatory. The tower, which was part of the Physics and Astronomy building, sat in the corner of the University at the south end of Millerand Common just before a sharp drop-off of the topography.

Chloe's usual run took her in a circuit through the middle and around the outskirts of the south side of campus. This route always took her past the bottom of the gargantuan staircase. The incline was steep and the stairs zigzagged up the side of the rock face, carving a wide path, left to right to left, into the stone. Chloe had tried to run the complete set a few times over the past three years and had never made it all the way. The furthest she had gone without stopping or slowing to a walk was to about ¾ of the way to the top. All in all, there were 429 steps. The wiki entry said 430, but Chloe knew it was wrong. She had counted. She had walked the steps quite a few times, but she wanted to run them, all at once, no stopping, no slowing.

Her eyes raking over the imposing task in front of her, she flipped through her playlists until she came to her hardcore workout list and set it to random. "Let's do this, Beale," she said to herself.

Chloe started her ascent, counting steps as she went.


	2. Three Days Ago

_Three days ago_

"What if I told you I have even more good news for you?" Chloe asked, a playful tone in her voice. She squeezed Beca's hand as they walked through the center of campus, swinging their arms just a bit. It was Friday and they were enjoying a low-key date night.

Beca let out an exaggerated gasp. "First Aubrey goes away for the weekend, leaving us three whole days off from Bella's practice and now you have _**more**_ good news? I don't know if I can handle it, Chlo." As Beca kept walking, she felt her arm being pulled back. When she turned to see why Chloe had stopped, the redhead walked over so they were facing each other and entwined their free hands.

"Beca, I'm serious," she said, the chuckle behind her words contradicting them.

"Yes, ma'am." Beca scrunched her face into a mock serious expression. "Serious. Very serious business. Fire away."

Chloe rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, her smile never leaving her face. "Well… I thought you might be interested to know that my roommate also happens to be away for the weekend. So I have the room all to myself."

Beca's eyebrows raised, the beginnings of a smile spreading through her lips. She tugged on Chloe's hands, bringing her closer. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm. And I thought maybe," Chloe ducked her head down, giving Beca a quick but insistent kiss, "you might want," another kiss, "to keep me company?" A longer kiss this time, deeper. "No pressure."

"Yeah," Beca said, voice lower than usual and full of gravel. She cleared her throat. "I mean, yeah, totally. That sounds like a really good plan."

They had been dating for a couple months, but between their busy schedules and the nature of dorm living, they rarely had alone time and Chloe had been feeling… not _exactly_ frustrated. She was quite happy with the way their relationship had been progressing, but she was definitely feeling ready to elevate things physically.

Chloe flashed a bright smile at Beca before dropping one more kiss to her lips. When she pulled away, she nodded her head back over her shoulder towards her dorm. "Come on," she said as she lead Beca to privacy.

The walk to Chloe's room was quick, but also quiet. Still holding hands, they walked at a brisk pace, stealing sidelong glances of each other, peppered with smiles ranging from shy to sly.

Once they were inside, Chloe turned on a few lights, took off her coat, and hung it in the closet. She extended her hand expectantly to Beca who reached out and grasped it so they were again holding hands. Chloe gently pulled Beca to her and kissed her once on each cheek. "As much as I enjoy holding your hand, I thought you would want to take your coat off?"

"Oh! Duh. Yes." Beca laughed at herself and let go of Chloe's hand to unzip her jacket. "Right. Smooth one, Mitchell."

Chloe smiled wide and looked on fondly at Beca's embarrassment as she handed over the garment. She hung it in the closet with her own and closed the door. "You could have kept it on if you wanted. I was just hoping you might stay awhile."

Beca approached Chloe as the redhead stepped backward until she was against the closet door. "I was hoping I might stay awhile, too."

Beca's hands found Chloe's hips, hooked her fingers through her belt loops and tugged. The redhead angled her pelvis forward toward Beca, her shoulders still against the door. Chloe bit her lip and ran her hands over Beca's forearms.

Beca's fingers raked over the hips of Chloe's jeans, over the waistband where her shirt was tucked in. She tugged on the shirt, pulling part of it free. "Can I see you?" Her voice was soft, just shy of being a whisper.

Chloe let Beca pull the rest of her shirt from her jeans. "Have you forgotten?" The redhead started undoing her buttons as Beca's hands moved to where Chloe's legs met her hips, down the front of her thighs a couple inches, leisurely stroking up and down again. "You've seen me." Chloe loved the flush that came over Beca's features every time she referenced their meeting in the communal shower.

Once Chloe's shirt opened, Beca let her fingers trail patterns over the pale skin of her abdomen, feeling it contracting and surging under her touch. "Trust me, I remember." She leaned forward and kissed Chloe's breast at the last bit of skin before it hid underneath the cup of her bra. One of Chloe's hands snaked under Beca's ear, around her neck to comb through the hair at her nape. Her other hand gripped Beca's belt and pulled her so their bodies were flush. "I remember it well." Beca reached up and pushed Chloe's shirt off her left shoulder. "But this is different." Beca kissed her collarbone once, twice, three times, then kissed her throat. Chloe closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Beca felt her whimper vibrate against her lips. "I haven't seen you like this."

Chloe grabbed Beca's face and pulled her in for a searing kiss, their lips reckless against each other, their tongues fueled by the fire burning between them, within them, all around them.

Beca pulled Chloe, providing space between her and the door to remove her shirt completely. As it fell to the floor, Chloe took the opportunity to reverse their positions. In one movement she had Beca pinned. She braced herself, arms extended, hands flat against the door on either side of Beca's head. When Beca tried to lean forward to kiss her, she backed away just enough. "And do you like me like this?"

Beca rolled her eyes, "what do you think?" Chloe giggled and Beca grabbed her around the waist. "Come here."

Chloe let out an appreciative hum and closed the distance between them, kissing Beca again. Their bodies moved together, their hands roamed and pulled and grasped. When Beca's hand cupped Chloe's breast through her bra, the redhead moaned into her mouth. Chloe's hands reached for Beca's belt again, this time, undoing the buckle and letting the ends splay open. She popped the button on Beca's jeans and dragged the zipper down. "Can I feel you?" she asked as she pulled her mouth away from their heated embrace.

Beca's only response was to move her oral ministrations to Chloe's neck and bring her other hand up so she was massaging both of Chloe's breasts. Taking that as encouragement, Chloe pushed Beca's shirts up as far as the tight material would move. After taking a moment to mentally appreciate Beca's style and also curse her for always wearing so many layers, Chloe let her hands explore the skin her efforts had left on display.

She moaned again as Beca's teeth scraped against the skin of her shoulder. Chloe moved her hands down to slide between the back of Beca's pants and the thin fabric of her underwear and squeezed. Beca gasped and pulled her head back to look at Chloe. The redhead squeezed again and Beca moaned and leaned into another kiss.

Chloe, leaving one hand where it was, brought her other hand back to the open front of Beca's pants. She teased the flesh right above Beca's panties with her fingers before slipping them inside, down, moaning as her fingertips felt wet heat.

In a flash, Beca brought her hands to Chloe's shoulders and shoved hard, sending the redhead stumbling backwards. "Dude!"

"Whoa," Chloe said, managing to keep her balance, her eyes wide, her face plainly showing confusion. "Beca, I…" She held her hands up in a sign of surrender. "I didn't…. I'm sorry, I thought…"

"No, it's fine. You weren't… I wanted…" Beca breathed in a deep breath and exhaled heavily, shaking her head. "I think maybe I should go." She turned around and started fixing her clothes.

"Beca, no…" Chloe started, desperate, as she approached her from behind. "What just..." She reached out to place her hand on Beca's shoulder but stopped herself short, not sure the contact was welcome. She stepped back again. "I mean, if that's what you want…" She looked down and saw her shirt lying at Beca's feet. A chill ran through her and she folded her arms across her body.

"It's just…" Beca faced Chloe but avoided eye contact, her pants were again secured and her shirts back in place, "I totally forgot I have this big quiz I really need to study for."

Chloe nodded, still hugging herself. "Do you want me to walk you back?"

"No. No, I'm fine. Really. I just have to go." She opened the door and walked out into the hall.

"Your jacket," Chloe called after her, the door closing behind Beca before the words had fully left her mouth.


	3. Monday Morning, 8:30 am

_Monday Morning, 8:30 am_

Beca Mitchell liked to keep her emotions at an even keel. Even when things would set her a bit off kilter, she had methods in place to help her regain balance. Sometimes, something might slip through a crack in her armor. She had been known to every now and again have knee-jerk reactions where she might mouth off or on rare occasion (that was ONCE!), physically assault someone.

None of that could compare to what she experienced the other night with Chloe, though. That had been less a case of something seeping through her cracks and more a case of total destruction of every single line of defense she had at her ready. It had been a betrayal, an inside job. She had been betrayed by her own body, her own mind, a long forgotten back door left unchecked and unlocked and she had been caught off guard.

Once her security system had come crumbling down, she knew there was no easy or fast recovery and her fight or flight instinct had taken over. Flight had won. She knew that the fight option would have meant staying and talking to Chloe about what had happened, opening up to her, letting her see past the barbed wire. But flight had won and she couldn't be too hard on herself for it, considering the crumbled mess of what had once stood so proudly beside her, in front of her, all around her. But that didn't mean she had to like her reaction. She knew that she should have decided to fight.

Chloe had tried to reach out to her a few times over the course of the weekend, but Beca was still mid-flight. A handful of concerned texts were currently residing in her phone. The words Chloe had chosen weren't overtly worried, but Beca knew Chloe well enough to be able to translate the real intention behind them. She knew that the late-night Friday text, "You left your jacket here," really meant, "Did you get back to your room safe? Are you ok?" She knew that Saturday afternoon's, "Hope studying is going well. Don't burn yourself out!" really meant, "What happened the other night, Bec? Talk to me."

Beca's succinct, stoic replies, "oh yeah, just give it to me whenever" and "going ok, thanks," belied the amount of time she had spent reading over the messages, her brow knit together as she chewed on her bottom lip. She mused that she must have read each text at least 1000 times. The latter 999 or so readings really had been unnecessary. They had instantly committed themselves to her memory.

The text that had really burned, that had melted the clay battalion she had spent the past few days rebuilding from the rubble, came the night before. She had just finished a paper that was due in the coming week and shut down her laptop for the night, ready to try to sleep when the bed vibrated near her foot where her phone laid. Her heart leaped into her throat and she looked down to see a notification from Chloe. Sliding her finger across the screen, she was greeted with only a few words. "Thinking about you xoxo." She knew the tacit meaning in that message as well, "Please, Beca, tell me what's going on."

She rolled over in bed and looked at her clock. 8:30 am. She had been awake for quite some time already. Kimmy Jin, who Beca had deemed a masochist as well as generally unpleasant, had a class with a start time of 8:15 on Monday mornings and was rarely considerate of the fact that Beca's first class didn't start until 11:30. Not that it mattered on this particular morning, since Beca had woken up sometime between 4 and 5 and hadn't been able to fully fall back to sleep since then. When she wasn't tossing or turning, she was looking at her phone, swiping her way to her messages, hoping to see something new from Chloe, knowing that it was unlikely at such an unreasonable hour.

She picked up her phone again, the familiar, heavy thud of anticipation in her chest as the screen lit up. No new notifications. Of course there were no new notifications. She hadn't even responded to the last message, figuring she could play it off like she had already been asleep when Chloe sent it. "Thinking about you xoxo." She hadn't known how to respond. Before this weekend, she would have sent a response in no time. Beca never played the "how long should I wait before responding" game. She didn't see much point in playing hard to get with someone you were actively dating and obviously crazy about. Maybe her response would have been sarcastic, maybe it would have been sweet, maybe it would have been borderline scandalous. But now all she could do was stare at the screen.

A loud knocking startled her and made her drop her phone and set her heart racing. She hopped out of bed and went to the door, opening it just a crack to peek out into the hall.

"Hey, you." Chloe, smiling big and bright, held up a white paper bag and a cardboard carrier with two cups in it. "I have coffee and muffins."

"Chloe," Beca said, soft and affectionate, "come in." She opened the door fully to allow the redhead to enter.

Chloe glanced around the room, seeing the unmade bed then Beca's unkempt hair and pajamas. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No," Beca said as she grabbed her phone from her mess of covers and started making her bed. "Hurricane Kimmy Jin left not too long ago, so…"

Chloe laughed and put the items she was carrying on Beca's desk. Once they were out of her hands, she grabbed the jacket she had draped over her arm in her hand and held it out to Beca who had started to try to pat down her unruly hair into something a little less Bride of Frankenstein. "I brought your jacket. I know it's your favorite and thought you might want to wear it today."

Beca looked up, a shy, half-smile on her lips. "Thanks." She grabbed the jacket and walked behind Chloe to drape it over the back of her desk chair. She stood there, her back to Chloe, her hands on the chair. "Listen, I'm sorry about…"

"Beca, I'm sorry for…" They both stopped, having started talking at the same time.

Beca turned around, coming face-to-face with Chloe. "I'm sorry for how I acted the other night."

Chloe held up her hand, halting Beca. "Beca, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I'm sorry for anything I did that made you uncomfortable or…"

"You didn't!"

"Beca," Chloe's eyes reflected the concern that could be heard in her voice, "I know you didn't leave because you had to study."

Beca exhaled, "I'm sorry I left like that." She reached out and grabbed Chloe's hand. "And I'm sorry I was so distant all weekend."

A somber laugh caught in Chloe's throat. "I missed you. A lot. I thought maybe you… and me…" She swallowed and shook her head, her eyes cast downward. "I thought a lot of things."

Beca pulled her into a tight hug, whispering, "I'm sorry," into the hair at Chloe's neck, right under her ear. She heard Chloe sniffle and squeezed her tighter. "I'm sorry." After long moments, they pulled apart. Chloe reached up to wipe at her damp eyes. Beca leaned in and kissed her, tender and long. Chloe seemed hesitant at first, but eventually, Beca felt some of the tension release from her body with a gentle exhale through her nose.

Beca pulled away and moved to sit cross-legged on her bed, her back against the wall. She patted the bedspread. "Come sit with me?"

Chloe did as requested, mimicking Beca's pose right beside her, their knees touching. Once she was settled, her hand automatically reached to rest on Beca's thigh, something she'd done countless times in the past. Before she made contact, though, she thought twice and pulled back to place her hand on her own leg. Noticing the gesture, Beca reached out and grasped Chloe's hand, bringing it into her lap where she knew the redhead would have normally placed it, keeping hers on top.

"I don't want things to be weird," Beca said.

Chloe shook her head. "I don't either. I just… I don't know, Beca, I feel like I… like I crossed a line I shouldn't have and I'm so, so sorry." Chloe squeezed Beca's leg in her hand.

"Chloe, no." Beca changed her position so she was half-facing the other woman. "I wanted…" Beca stalled as Chloe looked on, worried and curious. "I wanted all of it. I was _really_ into it. Really into _you_. It wasn't your fault, I promise. I'm sorry I made you feel like you did something wrong."

"Ok." Chloe nodded. "Ok," she repeated, continuing to nod a few moments more. "Then I guess I'm not sure what happened."

Beca's head picked up with the nodding where Chloe's had left off. She had decided, over the course of the weekend that she would tell Chloe everything when she had the chance to do it properly. That she would be as honest and frank as she possibly could.

"I know. I wasn't sure at first either, why I had shoved you like that. It came to me in the next instant, but I just… I don't know, I felt like the whole room was shrinking around me and I had to get out of there." She looked up to see Chloe's intent stare. Beca took in a deep breath and shook out her shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension she was feeling. "Ok, so like, when I was a Sophomore in high school…"


	4. Three Years Ago

**Author's Note: Non-con elements in this chapter.**

 _Three years ago_

As his hand pushed its way into the front of her pants, Beca jerked her hips back as far as the confined space of the back seat of Josh Ladner's car would allow. She pulled her face away from his and pushed her hands flat against his chest. "Ummm. I don't… I mean…. Can we take a minute?"

Heaving a huge sigh that really was more of a groan, he removed his hand, fingers still pressing firm against her as he did so and stared up at the ceiling above them. "Are you really gonna stop me again?"

"I'm sorry," Beca said automatically, feeling guilty.

"How long do you expect me to wait? This is like the fourth time." The first three times, he had been fairly easygoing about Beca putting a halt to their make out sessions. He had seemed unhappy with having to stop, but had mostly been okay with it. The last two times he had called her a tease, but he had said it in a somewhat joking tone, so Beca hadn't put _too_ much thought into it. Now he seemed angry.

Josh raised himself off of her and sat on his side of the car. Beca bent her legs up to herself before letting them drop over the edge of the bench, getting herself into a sitting position as well. He was obviously frustrated, running his hand through his wavy blonde hair. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I just don't know if I really want…"

"Jesus Christ, Beca. Look at me." He interrupted, gesturing to his pants, where his erection was evident. Beca had already been aware of the state of his penis since it had been poking her in the hip for the past five minutes. She had spent most of that time wondering at the human body and how it was possible for people to react so differently to the same situation. Here was sure evidence of how he was responding to their encounter while she was nowhere near as excited. "Are you just going to leave me like this?"

Beca shrugged, keeping her eyes on the tent of his pants. She didn't want to keep looking at it, but she didn't want to make eye contact either. "I don't know, Josh." She sounded unsure. She hated that she sounded unsure. Beca was very sure that she had no interest in his boner.

He grabbed her by the back of the neck. He wasn't exactly rough, definitely wasn't gentle. "You could suck it." When he tugged at her, pulling her toward his crotch, she winced and put her hands out to brace herself, one landing against his ribs, the other on his thigh. He made a pleased noise as she made contact.

Once she had steadied herself, she grabbed his hand, pulled it off her neck, and moved herself as far away as she could in the small car. "Dude, get off!"

"Calm down. I was just playing."

Beca crossed her arms over her chest and angled her face and body towards the window. "Can you just take me home?"

"I have a bit of a problem at the moment, give me a minute?" He sounded annoyed.

"Whatever." Any guilt Beca had felt dissipated. She stared out the window and heard Josh shifting around next to her, making annoyed, frustrated sounds. She assumed he was trying to calm himself down before they moved back to the front and he took her home.

He laughed, indignant. "My friends told me I shouldn't go after a fucking Sophomore. Guess they were right."

Beca had been excited when he asked her out the previous month. He was a senior, and he was cute, and from what she could tell from their shared ceramics class, he seemed like a decent guy. Now she found herself wishing he had listened to his friends and never asked her out at all.

She heard a low noise, sounding like it came from the back of Josh's throat. She turned and saw him with his eyes closed, his head back, resting against the seat. Looking down, she realized he had opened his pants and was masturbating.

"Oh my god, Josh! What the hell?" She reached for the door handle but found it locked. "Unlock the door!"

"I said give me a minute! Fuck!" He continued his action, speeding up his pace. "This would go a little faster if you would help me, you know." Beca made a disgusted face and gave him the finger. When she did that, Josh reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Come on, Beca, help me out."

He pulled hard on her wrist, bringing it closer to his groin. "Dude, no! Let go!" He was stronger than she was and eventually, despite her physical resistance and verbal protests, her fist made contact with his dick.

"Just get me off and I'll bring you home." At that point, all she wanted was to go home. She sighed and looked out the window again, but stopped trying to pull away. She opened her fist and Josh positioned himself inside her hand. At first, he used his own hand to guide hers up and down, but eventually he took his away and she continued the motion, just thinking about getting herself out of the situation. She tried to ignore his groans and the occasional, "don't stop," or, "fuck," or, "yeah."

Eventually he grunted, long and forceful, and finished, his hips jerking, his orgasm making a mess all over her fingers. She pulled her hand from him and held it away from herself, not exactly sure what to do with it. He looked at her after a moment and asked, "was that so fucking hard?" Then he fixed his pants, used the remote in his pocket to unlock the doors, and got out, then back in behind the steering wheel. Beca wiped her hand clean, well, clean enough, on the fabric of the seat bench, then followed him to the front of the car.

He drove her home, the radio loud and their voices silent. Beca spent the short drive alternately, and sometimes simultaneously, trying not to cry or vomit. As Josh pulled his car up in front of her house, he said, "you give a shitty hand job."

Beca hated the embarrassed flush she felt spread across her face, down her neck and chest. As she opened the door and stood to get out of the car she replied, "fuck you," but there wasn't much venom behind it. She couldn't seem to muster it.

Before the door had slammed shut she heard Josh say, "yeah, maybe next time you will, you fucking tease!"


	5. Monday Morning, 9:00 am

_Monday Morning, 9:00 am_

"So I guess when you… touched me like that, I…" Beca paused, gathering her thoughts, "…my body reacted the way it did. And then I was just embarrassed, so I left. I should have stayed"

"Beca, I'm so sorry." Chloe's face was cast down. Beca slid her hands over Chloe's which were wrung together tightly in the redhead's lap. She looked up into Beca's eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Hey, no! No crying!" Beca wiped at Chloe's face. "It's not your fault. I didn't even know I was going to react that way, so there's no way that you could have known."

"I just feel like… I don't know, like it's my fault that you're even thinking about any of this right now."

"Oh, I'm ok." Beca's facial features ran through a myriad of configurations as she searched for the right words. "I mean, yeah, I freaked out the other night, but I had a chance to really think about everything and sort some things out this weekend. I guess I never really dealt with it back then and mostly tried to forget about it."

"Did you tell anyone about what happened?" Chloe asked.

"I told my best friend at the time. Katie Thomas. We had been friends since second grade when she moved to town. When I first started going out with that guy, I got the feeling that she was sort of jealous of me. Neither one of us had really dated before then." Beca sighed. "When I told her what happened, she basically told me I was stupid for being upset about it and it wasn't that big of a deal." Beca shrugged. "And she said that I should have just done whatever he wanted in the first place because he was hot."

"Beca…" Chloe sounded heartbroken. Beca tried not to think about how heartbroken she had been at the time.

"Whatever, we didn't really talk anymore after that. She started dating him like the next week. I think he took her to prom."

Chloe's eyes grew wide with shock and her mouth dropped open. "What a fucking bitch!"

"Chloe! Oh my God!" Beca laughed, her eyes bright. The redhead rarely used such colorful language.

"What? It's true. That's so dirty!"

"Yeah. Well… I didn't have a lot of friends when I was younger. She was really the only person I was close to. And I definitely didn't have any interest in dating anyone after… everything, so I spent a lot of time alone with my music. I guess something good came out of it."

Chloe looked at her with a heartfelt and understanding gaze that soon turned into a huge yawn. Beca smiled. "A little tired, there?"

Chloe nodded. "I barely slept," she admitted.

Beca looked down, knowing she was responsible for Chloe's insomnia. "Me neither," she commiserated. "If it makes you feel any better, you look _awesome_." She brought a hand up to her still-messy hair. "Me on the other hand, not so much."

One corner of Chloe's lips bent up in a smile at the compliment. "I had a head start. I got out of bed super early this morning and," she glanced at Beca through shy lashes, "I ran the southern steps."

Beca's eyes lit up, her smile wide. "Wait! For real? You did it? You ran the suicide steps?"

Chloe's smile took over her whole face and she nodded. "I did it. For real. I ran the whole thing." Chloe told the story of her accomplishment, obviously pleased with herself. "And when I got to the top, I laid down in the grass for like a solid ten minutes. My legs were jello and I wasn't sure I'd ever breathe normally again. One of the grounds workers came over and asked me if I needed help or an ambulance."

Beca laughed loud and bright and launched herself at the redhead, wrapping her in a hug. "Chloe that's amazing! You're amazing!" They stayed like that, holding each other, the embrace changing from congratulatory to tender appreciation.

Once they finally pulled apart, Chloe's face again grew serious. "You know she was wrong. Your friend? You had every reason to be upset or to feel however you were feeling. You know that, right?"

"I know that," Beca agreed, softly. "Now, I know that. At the time I didn't know what to think. I thought maybe she was right, that I was overreacting or I should have just done whatever he wanted. But I realized later that that was a load of crap. Now I try to make a habit of not taking shit from anyone. _Least_ of all, you, Beale." Beca smiled and gently pushed Chloe's arm, rocking the redhead.

Chloe laughed, then looked up at Beca, the two of them sharing a lingering gaze that was only ended by Chloe showing how tired she was yet again. "I'm sorry," she managed through her yawn. "Excuse me."

"Do you want to lay down?" Beca asked, yawning herself. "I have like two hours before class, and you don't have anything until this afternoon. Maybe we could sleep a little?"

Chloe agreed and kicked off her shoes. They got under Beca's covers, facing each other, Chloe's back against the wall. The two of them pressed close together in the small twin bed. Chloe moved to place her arm on Beca's hip, and stopped herself short. "I still feel a little unsure of how to be with you. How to touch you."

Beca scooted even closer, tucking herself into Chloe, pressing her head against her chest, wrapping her arm around her middle. "I'm no different than I was before, Chlo. I just shorted out and needed a reboot. Just be with me like I'm me. You know how to do that." She felt Chloe relax and wrap her arm around her. "You're good at that."

Chloe held Beca close to her for long moments before reaching to tilt her head up. "I missed you so much this weekend."

Beca responded with a kiss, tender at first, then deeper, her hand slipping under Chloe's shirt and stroking up her spine and down her side. As they both got more involved in the kiss, Chloe's hand found it's way to Beca's hip and squeezed, causing her to moan.

"Is this ok?" Chloe asked, mumbling the words against Beca's lips.

"This is very ok."

They kissed for minutes, hours, days. It was hard for either of them to know how long. When they parted, their breathing labored, they lay close together, foreheads touching, comfortably quiet until Beca broke the silence. "So about the other night… I was thinking maybe we could try again?"

Chloe leaned her head back and raised her eyebrows.

"Not now!" Beca chuckled. "But like, next time. You know?"

"As long as you're sure," something about the tone in Chloe's voice, the care, the concern, the affection, sent a wave of longing through Beca's body.

"I'm sure. Really. Last time… I wanted to be there." Beca traced her fingers over Chloe's stomach, remembering doing the same in the redheads dorm room, remembering her arousal and the pull she felt toward the other woman. "I wanted you. And nothing about what you were doing was bad." Beca brought their lips together again. "Maybe next time we can like, I don't know, take it slow and see what happens." Beca looked down between them, feeling shy and mildly overwhelmed by Chloe's caring, blue eyes. "I don't want to _always_ react that way. And I don't think I will. But I want to try again." She looked back to Chloe. "Soon," she emphasized.

Chloe kissed Beca lightly. "I'd like that a lot."

After a moment of comfortable silence, Beca's head rolled back and she made a frustrated face. "UGH! We could have spent the whole weekend together!"

Chloe nodded her I-told-you-so nod and said, "I _know_!" before sighing. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that now. But I really do want to try to get some sleep before I have to go to class. So just snuggle me and be quiet."

Beca laughed, tucking her head under Chloe's chin again. "Yes, ma'am."


	6. Three Weeks Later

_Three Weeks Later_

After Aubrey had returned from her weekend away, Bellas practices were thrown into high gear. The timing was less than ideal considering the fact that it was the halfway point of the semester and midterms were in full swing. Between practice, studying, sleeping, and attending class, Beca and Chloe had barely been able to see each other outside of the gymnasium.

Any alone time they did manage to scrape together over the past few weeks had usually resulted in napping. Chloe couldn't really complain since napping with Beca was one of her favorite activities. It was relaxing, restorative, and downright adorable. But even taking into account the intimacy that cuddling fostered and the kisses that accompanied it, Chloe sort of _missed_ Beca, and she was longing to spend some time with her away from practice. Preferably while they were both awake.

During the hell that was midterm week, the Bellas had formally petitioned Aubrey to give them Friday off from practice. She resisted at first, but after the united threat of full-scale mutiny, she relented and granted them furlough with a promise that the rest of the weekend would consist of doubles.

As soon as Aubrey had delivered the news, Chloe skipped her way to Beca. "Go out with me Friday night." She said the words quietly, raising on her tiptoes as she spoke, a smile on her face that showed more in her eyes than on her lips. Beca had happily agreed and they decided to meet at six o'clock Friday evening at the campus' main entrance.

Chloe arrived a few minutes early and sat herself on the brick wall that lined the sidewalk, swinging her feet as she distractedly looked at her phone. She couldn't really put her finger on why, but for some reason, she had been quite nervous while getting ready for their date. Even now, waiting for Beca to arrive, she felt on edge.

"Hey, loser!" Beca called out, startling the butterflies that had just begun to settle in Chloe's stomach.

She looked up, already rolling her eyes as she hopped down off her perch. "The perennial romantic!" She and Beca approached each other, Chloe smiling and Beca smirking.

As they got closer, Beca's voice turned softer. "Hey, you."

"Hey, you."

They kissed, neither of them really making the move, their bodies and hands and mouths just sort of coming together, lips parting, tongues reaching to barely touch at the same time. Chloe quickly ended the kiss, knowing that it wouldn't take long for her to lose herself in it and not wanting that to happen here, now. After they separated, Chloe smoothed her clothes as she gave Beca the once over. "You look great," she said, showing her appreciation.

Beca looked down at herself, her expression unconvinced. "Thanks." She had long since learned that trying to brush off one of Chloe's compliments was more trouble than it was worth and it was best to just accept them graciously. "You look amazing. As usual."

"Thank you!"

For a few moments, they stood there, smiling at each other. Finally, Beca couldn't handle the somewhat awkward silence anymore. "Chloe?"

The redhead hummed. "Yes?"

Beca looked around them. "Why are we just standing here?"

The smile never left Chloe's face. "We're waiting for the cab."

Beca cocked her head to the side, confused. "Cab? Aren't we going to The Riverview?"

The Riverview Diner was situated just off campus, nowhere near a river or any other body of water. The food was good and it was well within walking distance, so it was the logical choice for any Barden student who was looking for a change of pace from the university dining halls and the few cafes scattered around the grounds. The handful of times Beca and Chloe had gone for an actual meal, not just coffee or a quick lunch between classes, The Riverview had been their destination.

"I thought we could go somewhere a little nicer tonight. With our schedules and midterms and everything that's been going on, I'm _certain_ that you haven't been feeding yourself properly." Chloe had taken it upon herself to bring some more nutritious snacks to practice for Beca like fruits, milk, veggie sticks. She knew, though, that left to her own means, Beca would primarily eat foods that were mostly devoid of nutritional value. "And I'm _equally_ certain that if we went to the diner you would order pancakes."

"Pfff!" Beca's face contorted in incredulity. She shook her head, indignant and defensive, and crossed her arms over her chest, her features dropping into a half-pout, half-scowl. "That's like so… You don't know what I've been eating."

Chloe mirrored Beca and folded her arms in front of herself, raising her eyebrows and glaring at Beca expectantly.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine. So maybe I haven't been eating the _best_ foods possible. But peanut butter and pretzels have to cover at least like three food groups. Besides, you kept forcing me to eat carrots at practice!"

Chloe chuckled and wrapped Beca, whose arms were still crossed, in a loose hug, dipping forward to place a kiss on the brunette's nose. "You're adorable. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Beca said grumpily, still pouting.

"What's with the face?" Chloe swayed back and forth, shaking Beca lightly.

The other girl sighed and said, "Nothing." She grumbled a bit, then finally relented. "I was really looking forward to pancakes."

Chloe laughed and resisted the urge to say something along the lines of I told you so, though her face may have given her away. Just then the cab pulled up and Chloe opened the door, letting Beca enter first.

The ride into town didn't take long and they sat together quietly for the whole ride, Beca holding Chloe's hand in her lap.

Chloe had chosen a small farm-to-table restaurant called Cafe Agricola along the main street of the small town center. She had called ahead to make reservations, asking for a table for two tucked away into a corner. After they ordered, they talked about their classes and how they thought they did on their exams and how happy they were that midterms were over. In the first pause in conversation, Chloe, eyes sincere and keen, told Beca that she was beautiful, that she thought she was probably the most beautiful person she'd ever seen in her life. Beca let out a puff of air and her cheeks turned pink but not red and her lips smiled a barely-there smile as she returned Chloe's fixed attention, speechless.

Their waitress brought their food as they were still sharing that gaze. They enjoyed a quiet dinner, and Chloe was pleased to see Beca eat a small dinner salad and a mix of roasted vegetables that came with her chicken breast entree. When the bill came, Beca had tried to split it with Chloe, but the redhead refused, saying that she wanted to treat her, that it wasn't something that was up for discussion.

They walked along the quaint street, window shopping and chatting. When they came to a frozen yogurt shop, Chloe asked if Beca wanted some for dessert.

"No, I'm still pretty full from dinner. Do you want to head back?"

Chloe was a little surprised that Beca wanted to go back so soon. Looking up at a large post clock halfway down the block, she noticed it wasn't even eight o'clock yet. "Oh, sure. We could do that." When Beca reaffirmed, Chloe called for a cab to pick them up at the end of the street.

As they strolled along toward the pickup spot, Beca suggested, "Maybe we could go to my room and watch a movie or something."

Chloe turned her head to look at her, skeptical. "You hate movies."

"Yeah, I know," Beca conceded. "But I don't hate you."

Chloe laughed at that. "You don't hate me? You sure do know how to charm a girl, Beca."

They stopped walking once they reached the corner and Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist. "So do you want to hang out or…"

Chloe considered the offer. "Won't Kimmy Jin be there, scowling at us?" She wanted to spend more time with Beca, of course she did, but she wasn't sure that going to the brunette's dorm room would be her ideal choice.

Beca sucked her lips in between her teeth, looking down, looking coy. "Kimmy Jin went home for the weekend." She looked up into Chloe's eyes. "And I don't actually want to watch a movie, but I don't have a coffee maker in my room so I thought, 'Want to come up for some coffee?' might be a little bit too transparent of an attempt to get you alone."

Chloe kissed her. Really kissed her. Although it still wasn't exactly the right time and place, she let herself get lost in Beca, lost in the feel of her lips against her own, lost in their tongues sliding against one another, lost in Beca's scent and her body heat. Eventually they heard a car horn honk and pulled apart to see their cab had arrived.

Beca brought her fingertips up to her lips, looking dazed as she watched Chloe move to open the cab door. "So is that a yes?"

"Get in, Mitchell. Let's go not watch some movies."


	7. Later That Night

_Later That Night_

"Oh my God, you're _so_ impatient!" Beca's hands fumbled trying to unlock her room door. When Chloe had grabbed her by the waist and hugged her from behind, she had been perfectly fine. When Chloe's lips and tongue found their way to her neck, though, it was all just a little too much and she found that her coordination was failing.

"Oh, _I'm_ the impatient one, am I?" Chloe whispered before taking Beca's earlobe between her teeth and tugging until it slipped free of her grasp.

The kiss they had shared right before the cab arrived had left Beca feeling a bit intoxicated. Once they had gotten into the car, though, she shook off the clouds and had felt keyed up. Admittedly, she had been somewhat frisky on the ride back from town, kissing Chloe in the back of the cab, her hand massaging Chloe's thigh.

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about," Beca lied as she tried once more to get the key into the lock. When, yet again, she failed, she turned in Chloe's arms. "You need to let me focus on opening the door so we can get out of this hallway."

"You don't want to make out right here?" Chloe asked innocently as she pressed against Beca, pushing her back into the door. She leaned in, hovering within an inch of Beca's face. "I could take you right against this door if you wanted me to." A few breaths passed, ghosting over Beca's chin, before the brunette closed the distance between their lips.

When a group of people walked past them, some of them giggling, one guy saying, "Oh, hell yes," Chloe moaned, low and breathy, and kissed her deeper, pressed against her harder, further confirming Beca's preexisting suspicions that Chloe Beale was an unabashed exhibitionist.

She managed to pull her mouth away from Chloe's and say in a shaky, hoarse voice, "Seriously, Chlo. Let's get inside."

Chloe stayed flush with Beca and grabbed the key from her. She effortlessly slid it into the lock, turned, and opened the door. "After you."

Beca backed in and quickly crossed the room, feeling the need to get a little bit of distance between herself and Chloe, a little bit of air. The effect that Chloe had on her was consistently dizzying and she wanted to take a moment to collect herself. She took a few steadying breaths and set down her bag. After taking off her jacket and straightening her shirt, she turned back to Chloe, who was similarly shedding herself of her outermost layers.

For a moment, once they had stilled, they stood there, looking, taking in the sight of one another. Chloe finally broke the silence. "We _could_ watch a movie. If you wanted to, or if…"

"No," Beca interrupted. "I mean, if you want to… Whatever. We can do whatever. I just want to be with you." She added the last part, her cheeks turning rosy.

Chloe raised an amused eyebrow, eyes bright. "We can do _whatever_?" She advanced towards Beca, appraising her from head to toe. Beca fidgeted, feeling scrutinized and vaguely nervous. Chloe stopped a few feet away, somewhat abruptly, her mouth open, somewhere between a thought and a voicing of that thought.

"What?" Beca asked when it seemed like Chloe was stuck in place.

"Nothing."

"Chloe, what?" Beca persisted, sounding borderline annoyed, but mostly just curious and a little uncomfortable.

She blinked a few times. "It's nothing. I was just… Sometimes…" Chloe broke her gaze and looked at Beca's shoes. "Sometimes I get… lost in you. Looking at you, kissing you."

There was a silence after that that spread between them and filled the entire room. "Oh," Beca finally offered when she felt like the walls might burst around them. Chloe flicked her eyes back to Beca's. "Me too. I mean…" she chewed on her bottom lip, "…yeah, me too." It was true. Chloe often made Beca feel lost or dazed or like she was maybe floating away. She also, at times, this moment for instance, had the ability to remove all traces of the brunette's eloquence.

Chloe looked at Kimmy Jin's bed. "I can't help but think about that time my roommate was away." Beca cringed and made an uncomfortable noise in the back of her throat. "No… Hey, I don't mean _that_ ," she assured Beca after seemingly reading her mind. Although, Beca surmised, this particular thought was quite obviously telegraphed. "Well, I guess that's part of it. But I mostly mean the part _before_ that."

"Oh," Beca parroted, still feeling less than articulate.

Chloe raised on her tiptoes, her hands close against her sides, bunching into fists, then flaring her fingers out wide, "And I can't help but think about the cab ride and the hallway and the fact that we both tend to err on the side of impatience. Which is why I'm not kissing you right now. You make me feel… reckless."

Beca exhaled a breath that alleviated the tension she hadn't realized had been building within her since before they had made it inside her room. "I…" Beca closed her eyes and tried to wrangle all her emotions into something coherent she could offer Chloe. "I want you to be kissing me right now. I want," she chuckled, "I want to be impatient and not give a shit about what might happen if we get reckless or lost in each other or the moment or whatever. And I want…" Beca released a frustrated groan.

"Hey, listen," Chloe said, softly, finally making her way to Beca and placing her hands on the other woman's shoulders.

Beca drew in a terse breath and looked at Chloe.

"I just want to…" Chloe paused, making sure to be mindful of her words. "I want us on the same page. So if anything makes you feel…" She stroked a hand over Beca's cheek. "If you want to stop, or slow down, or whatever, just let me know. Just tell me. Ok?"

Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist, holding her in a loose loop. "Ok."

Chloe smiled. "Promise me you won't run away again?"

Beca resisted the urge to apologize, again, for the way she had shut Chloe out and instead said, "This is my room. Where would I run to?"

Chloe moved her hands to link them around Beca's neck. "Do you promise?"

Beca kissed her, tender, patient. "I promise," she whispered.

Chloe kissed her back, matching her restraint. Even when they inevitably deepened the kiss, there was an almost lethargic quality to their movements, to the swipe of their tongues, to the roam of their hands. It reminded Beca of their first kiss, a thought that started in the middle of her chest and quickly spread to the ends of the earth, knocking her back a few inches and making her take in a sharp breath of air.

Their kiss broken, Chloe licked her lips then announced, "I'm hot."

"What?" Beca questioned, puzzled.

Chloe pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it onto Beca's desk chair. "I was hot. It's kind of warm in here."

Beca hummed her understanding. "You're still hot," she said simply, letting her eyes roam over Chloe's torso, the redhead's white undershirt hugging her body, her dark bra visible underneath. "Take off your shoes." Beca kicked her sneakers off and shrugged out of the open button-down she had been wearing, leaving her in only the sleeveless black tee underneath. She grabbed Chloe by the wrist and tugged her along as she made her way to sit on her bed.

Chloe rid herself of her boots, then stood in front of Beca, nudging her knees apart so she could inhabit the space between. With two fingers, she tilted Beca's chin upward, then used both hands to sweep the brunette's hair back, leaving her open to Chloe's view.

Beca held her gaze as long as she could, but eventually she felt the need to break the silence. She blinked and the beginnings of a smirk crossed her face. When her lips parted, Chloe ran her thumb over the corner of her mouth, between her lips, cutting off whatever Beca was going to say and replacing it with a breathy almost-moan.

"You're magnificent," Chloe said with such quiet affection, Beca's heart jumped behind her ribs. Not allowing her the chance to respond, Chloe bent down and kissed her, her face cradled in Chloe's hands.

They kissed like that, with more fervor than before, until Beca's neck began to protest from the strain of the angle. "Come here." Beca kissed her again and wrapped a hand around the back of Chloe's neck as she laid down. Chloe followed, kneeling above her, her knees framing Beca's hips.

Their mouths melted together. Beca could feel Chloe's body heat emanating from above and it drew her in. She squirmed, seeking contact, but Chloe stayed out of reach, teasing. Beca bit down on Chloe's bottom lip, a little harder than she normally would have, a little harder than she had meant to.

Chloe groaned and pulled away. She sat back on Beca's thighs and ran both her tongue and her finger across her lip. Without preamble, she pulled her shirt up and over her head. Beca watched as red hair was first trapped then sprung free, cascading over pale shoulders. Chloe grasped the hem of Beca's tank and said, "Give me this."

"So demanding," Beca commented, but she reached down, arching her back, pulling the shirt free and handing it to Chloe. "All yours."

Once settled, she pressed her hands flat against Chloe's stomach and curled her fingers around to trail up Chloe's sides. When she reached the bottom of her bra, she dragged her fingernails back down, scratching lightly against Chloe's ribs and stomach. She slipped her fingers just under the waist of Chloe's jeans and gripped firm, not pulling, just holding.

Chloe reached behind herself, unclasped her bra, and removed it in one fluid motion. Beca swallowed, her eyes wide, her nostrils flared. When she made no move to relinquish her hold on Chloe's pants, the redhead reached down to unbutton and unzip her own jeans. Gravity and Beca's grip pulled the front open.

Chloe hooked a finger into the front center of Beca's bra. "And this?" She playfully tugged a few times. "Can I have this, too?"

"Demanding _and_ greedy." Beca sat up, propping herself on her arms, her torso at an angle to the bed. "Unhook it for me?"

Chloe hummed a low sound and reached around Beca's body to do as requested. "I might be a little demanding, Beca, but I'm definitely not greedy." She laid Beca back against her pillows and kissed her once before pulling away, taking the item of clothing with her and tossing it in the same general direction she had discarded Beca's shirt previously.

Chloe splayed her fingers out across Beca's lower abdomen, tapping her fingers into the flesh, softly humming a melody that the brunette didn't recognize. She grasped Beca's jeans between her fingers, one hand on each side of the top button. "And this?" She tugged once, making it clear what she was asking.

Beca closed her eyes and nodded silently, her lips pulled between her teeth. Chloe undid the button and pulled the zipper down, slow. When Beca felt Chloe's touch leave her, she opened her eyes and saw the redhead's hands roaming over her own body, over her stomach and up to her breasts, squeezing. Beca watched, transfixed, as Chloe's nipples hardened under her own touch.

"Beca," Chloe said, bringing the other woman's attention up to her face. "Do you want to touch me?"

Beca opened her mouth to respond, but only managed, "Uhh…"

"I want you to." Chloe said, licking her lips.

Her voice failing her, Beca nodded.

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes," Beca admitted after an extended pause.

"So am I," she said gently. She grasped Beca's hands and pulled them up so that they were against her ribs. "A little bit." She bent down and kissed Beca's jaw. "Why are you nervous?" She brought her attention to Beca's neck, licking, sucking, lightly nipping with her teeth.

"I think…" Beca moaned, interrupting herself. She turned her head to bring her lips together with Chloe's, feeling overwhelmed with sensation and needing to ground herself in order to finish the conversation. After a thorough kiss, she leaned back. "I think it's just because I've never done this before."

She knew that Chloe was already aware of that fact, but the admission sent an unexpected thrill through her that was only rivaled by the one caused by Chloe's response of, "Neither have I. Not really. Not with another woman." And Beca knew this too, but the words, along with the final addition of, "Not with you," sent her into overdrive. She kissed Chloe again, frenetic and needy, her hands cupping Chloe's breasts, her fingertips drumming over Chloe's nipples.

They became a mess of lips and limbs and teeth. Once they managed to kick out of the rest of their clothes, Chloe laid to the side of Beca, her leg draped over her hip, her hand massaging Beca's breast as they kissed. Chloe dragged her hand lower, down Beca's stomach, across the expanse of fluttering abdominal muscles. When she reached the spot below Beca's belly button, she stopped her descent, swirling her fingers in careless patterns over the skin, from one hip to the other back to the first.

"Beca," she said against her lips. "I want…"

Beca combed her fingers into Chloe's hair and kissed her deeper, not letting her finish her thought. Instead of voicing a response she widened the spread of her legs.

Chloe whimpered and flattened her palm against Beca's skin, her fingers bent slightly, applying pressure. She slid lower and when her fingertips found their destination, felt how _fucking wet_ Beca was, they both moaned, a lewd chorus.

Beca bucked her hips against Chloe's fingers, irregular, wild. Chloe pressed her leg tighter against Beca, trying to still her movements so she could find better purchase. She held her hand in place for a moment and focused on kissing her, achieving the calm she had been seeking. She pulled away from Beca's lips and started a circular motion, watching her face for reactions. The sight of Beca, her eyes closed, mouth open, tongue slack, spurred Chloe on, her movements becoming more sure, firmer. Small, sexy noises worked their way from the back of Beca's throat.

"Beca, look at me." When her eyes stayed closed, Chloe kissed her again, hot and wet and deep. Beca squirmed under her, pressing herself against Chloe's fingers. Chloe pulled back from their kiss and lightened her touch, earning a whine and a roll of Beca's hips. "Baby, look at me."

When Beca opened her eyes, Chloe slid inside. Suddenly, Beca was encapsulated in her. Chloe was everywhere and everything. All around her and inside her and a part of her. She was the air that Beca was breathing, the taste in her mouth, the blood in her veins. She was the heartbeat thumping in her ears, and, most of all, she was the inciting, slow stroke against her most sensitive parts. Beca felt the echoes of it bouncing around her bones, reverberating to every inch of her body. She felt it climb up her windpipe and out her mouth, past her lips; a licentious outburst that she knew was because of, made of, made for Chloe.

The sound ignited something in the redhead, who shifted her body so that all of her was between Beca's legs. She pressed herself against the back of her hand and let her hips keep pace, rolling thrusts pulling whimpers and moans and profanities and grunts and the occasional, "Chloe," from the brunette's lips.

Beca considered internally that this feeling, these sensations, being fucked by Chloe, she could do this forever. And in the next instant, she felt herself clenching around Chloe's fingers. The redhead coaxed, "That's it, baby. Let go," and Beca came, hard, digging the fingernails of one hand into Chloe's back and the other into the flesh of her ass.

As she came down from her orgasm, Beca felt the swaddle of Chloe's cocoon loosening its hold. She could feel it flaking away with each labored breath, leaving her to emerge as something new, someone new. She wasn't exactly sure how she was changed, but she knew she was. And she knew this new Beca _wanted_ Chloe, wanted her even more than she had prior to her transformation. Wanted to envelop her and devour her and change her. Beca wanted to pull her apart, sever every atomic bond in her body then reconstruct her.

When her senses came back to her, Beca became aware of the fact that Chloe was still on top of her, kissing her collarbone, her sternum, her breasts. Everything about Chloe, the way she was holding her body, the constraint of her movements, her breathing, the small noises coming from her, it all reminded Beca of a coiled spring creaking under pressure. "Hey," she said, as she skimmed the palms of her hands over Chloe's arms and shoulders. When Chloe looked up at her, hair disheveled, mouth open and panting, eyes heavy and darker than Beca had ever seen, a sharp quake, an aftershock, rippled through her body.

Beca kissed her, eliciting a needy whine from Chloe. She grabbed her hip and pushed up, urging her to roll over in the small bed. They managed to reverse their positions without breaking their kiss, Beca's knees between Chloe's. She parted her legs in a series of tiny movements, nudging Chloe, opening her.

Beca sat up, leaning back and taking in the sight of Chloe, naked and flushed.

"Where are you going?" Chloe asked, breathy and quick, worried.

Beca laid her hands on Chloe's legs, just above her knees, squeezing, caressing. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." She slid her hands higher up the insides of the redhead's thighs. "I wanted to look at you." Chloe shivered at that and Beca was reminded of her earlier thoughts about Chloe's not-so-latent exhibitionism. "I like looking at you." Her hands ventured further, up Chloe's stomach to her breasts, her already hard nipples. "I especially like looking at you like this."

She ran her hands over Chloe's body, letting her fingers trail over every bone, every dip, every swell of flesh. "I've thought about you like this a lot." For a fleeting moment, a spark of inhibition or embarrassment or regret burned hot and bright in the pit of Beca's stomach, but quickly flamed out.

"Beca," Chloe closed her eyes and her body arched, her head thrown back.

She wrapped her hands around Chloe's ribs and pushed her back down into the bed gently, leaning over her a bit. She dragged her fingernails down Chloe's sides, back to her hips, back down her thighs. "This is how I think about you when I touch myself."

Chloe whimpered, almost a cry, almost pitiful, but something in Beca didn't want to take pity yet. "Beca, please." Chloe brought her hands to her own abdomen, one roaming low on her stomach, the other reaching down to slide between her legs.

Beca didn't let herself get caught up in the fierce thrill that shot through her body like lightning at the possibility of watching Chloe pleasure herself, and instead grabbed Chloe's wrists, pulling her hands away, laying them against the bed. "No. Let me." Chloe bit her lip and nodded.

With her eyes secured on the intended target of Chloe's touch, an image streaked through Beca's mind like the flash of a popping bulb. She thought of her mouth on Chloe, her tongue exploring and tasting and teasing her. Both her breathing and her pulse went erratic at the thought and she cleared her throat, trying to regain control. Chloe looked down at the sound, her eyes wild, unfocused. Beca's grip on Chloe's wrists loosened and their fingers almost instinctively moved to interlock.

Beca scooted her knees back, out from under herself, until she was in more of a laying position. Holding eye contact with Chloe as she lowered her head, she asked, "Will you let me?"

Chloe's jaw dropped open, and she breathed, panted the other woman's name. When Beca's mouth made contact, Chloe threw back her head and let out a moan so guttural, so loud, Beca couldn't hear her own pleased intonation.

Gradually, her touch transformed from that first chaste press of her lips to a more thorough open mouthed kiss. She reveled in Chloe, in her taste and her scent. In her movements and vocalizations.

In little time, Beca found a rhythm, thinking of a slow, sexy song that had always reminded her of Chloe, had always brought about less than wholesome thoughts of the redhead. Chloe squeezed Beca's fingers and released a litany of obscenities. She knew Chloe had been on edge already, knew her arousal had reached critical mass, so it came as little surprise when she was soon saying, "Beca… Fuck… So close…" Her hips bucked, unbridled, and Beca pulled one of her hands loose from Chloe's, wrapping it around her thigh, grounding them both. Chloe's free hand snaked around the back of Beca's head and grabbed a fistful of hair, causing Beca to moan into her flesh. They both held tight, riding out Chloe's orgasm, Beca not letting go, not stopping until she felt Chloe's grasp slacken.

Afterward, Beca peppered her thighs and belly with soft kisses, feeling the rise and fall of Chloe's oxygen-greedy body underneath her. Eventually, Chloe reached down, cupping Beca's face and drawing her upward. "Here," she said between still heavy breaths. "Come here."

Beca rose to her knees and positioned herself above Chloe, looking into her eyes. "Hey, you," she said, quiet, warm.

"Hey, you," Chloe echoed, wrapping her arms around the brunette, pulling her in for a kiss.

Beca resisted. "I'm uh… kind of messy."

Chloe moaned and pulled harder, kissing her deep. Beca relented and kissed her back, laying her full body weight down on top of Chloe. When they finally pulled apart, Beca stroked Chloe's face, gazing into her eyes. After a moment, she looked away, shy, hesitant.

"What is it?" Chloe asked.

"Well… I was just wondering if you were going to… like, if you wanted to stay. All night?"

Chloe smiled at Beca's awkward proposal and giggled as she placed a peck on her lips. "Yes, I'd like to stay. All night."

Beca relaxed and moved a little off to the side so she was less on top of and more next to Chloe. She looked to the clock on the wall and said, "You know, it's still like _really_ early." She traced her fingernails in lazy circles across Chloe's skin. "And I don't know about you, but I'm not really tired, so…"

Chloe propped herself on her side, coming face to face with Beca. She pressed her body into her, pushing her against the wall, sliding her thigh between Beca's and pulling the brunette's leg over her hip. "Mitchell, if you think I'm finished with you for the night, you are absolutely," Chloe kissed her, "completely," kissed her again, "mistaken."

Hours later, after they had both been expended to physical exhaustion, after they had fallen asleep, entangled in each other's limbs and Beca's sheets, the brunette woke to Chloe's mouth on her neck, just below her ear, whispering, "Wake uuuuuup."

Beca opened one eye to look at the clock, groaning. "Noooooo. Leave me alone. We don't have to be at practice for like two and a half hours."

Chloe nibbled on Beca's earlobe then said, low and sultry, "Maybe I can convince you?"

Beca pulled away from Chloe's teasing mouth and brought the covers over her head, hiding from the daylight. "Chloe, I can't. I literally can not even think about going another round with you. Let me sleeeeeep."

Chloe laughed, "Get your mind out of the gutter, pervert. I'm starving." Beca's face peeked out from under the covers. "And If I'm not mistaken, I owe you pancakes."

"Pancakes?" Beca rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing she had lost this fight. "You should have lead with that."

* * *

 **Author's Note: And that's all. Thanks to Redlance for helping to keep me on track and also helping me to stay (mostly) sane.**


End file.
